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RBC-Global Asset Management Stewardship, June 11th, 2025 #amazingvolunteers #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garlicmustardshmarlicmustard #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #rbc #rbcgam #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

"To create a little flower is the labour of ages".🌸 You never know when magical days are going to happen. You might think today might be and with a little luck it is or sometimes a pretty ordinary day floats aloft like a Milkweed seed and becomes something more. Thank you to everyone who made June 11, 2025 a magical day. The amazing folks who came out to tonight's stewardship and gave so much effort removing invasive plants and made a better home for native ones. Thank you to our partner RBC-GAM (@rbc) who was there all afternoon with 20 people, teaming up with our stewards to do even more good work. One of our folks like to say about our little stewardship spot, "Its the prettiest place there ever ever was". Today it sure felt that way. The sun shone so brightly, the breeze was so cool and sweet, and the people made it delightful. Thank you. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #cricketisbacknextweek #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garlicmustardshmarlicmustard #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #rbc #rbcgam #stewardshipwednesdays #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

We were at Market Lane PS yesterday partnering with Toronto Police Services and the amazing officers from 51 Division (@tps51div) to do a clean up of the Esplanade with students from grades 1 to 4. We had a great time helping the kids take care of their community and the beautiful parks near the school. Thank you so much to the teachers and kids and to Jenn and all the community officers who came out yesterday. We ran home afterwards and put on our Salomon trail shoes for the final Tuesday Night Youth Trail Group of the spring. Thank you to all the kids who came out for the past four weeks and the amazing parents who support this and come out running with us each week. Salomon (@salomonrunning, @salomontoronto) and Eric make this possible with support in many forms. Trail shoes for the kids to keep so they can keep running and helping us keep this going for the past four years. Coaches, you are the best. Wednesday is a busy day as well and I hope to see some folks come out today at 5 pm for Fighting Dirty 2 - The Invasives Don't Return. Meet at our container hub and we have everything you need to help the native plants and improve biodiversity in the Don Valley. Year to date 2025: Clean up # 24 1826 bags of trash 36,870 pounds of garbage including 1 ATM, 34 bikes, 6 mattresses, 72 tires, 22 propane tanks, an electric guitar, and tens of thousands of disposable wipes that should not be tangled beside nor in a beautiful river in Toronto. Thank you. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #dontmesswiththedon #garbagecleanup #getoutside #makeadifference #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #runningtheravines #salomon #salomonrunning #salomontoronto #toronto #trailrunning #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto #youthtrailrunning

Paddle and Protect- The Canadian Tire Expedition June 8th, 2025 #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #cricketinakayak #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalleyadjacent #garbagecleanup #getoutside #lakeontario #makeadifference #paddleandprotect #paddleON #riotkayaks #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

DMWTD was so busy over the last few days that we had to take a nap before writing this post. On Friday we had a wonderful day with employees from M. Moser Associates (@mmosersocial) and together we continued to remove DSV, Garlic Mustard, Burdock and other invasive. This bring the week's total to over 1500 pounds of bagged Garlic Mustard and hundreds of square metres of DSV stopped in it's tracks. Remember this Wednesday at 5 pm is Fighting Dirty 2 - The Invasives Don't Return. Please come out if you can before the DSV seeds. We meet at our container hub at 11 Redway Road. Saturday was Mountain Biking and DMWTD was all over the trails with over 30 riders and instructors. Thank you to everyone from our Mountain Biking Committee who take the time to get the bikes ready and organized and then puts on this incredible ride every Saturday. Sunday was our first official Paddle and Protect Kayaking session of 2025. Our group was over at the Spit removing 14 bags of plastics that are just brutal for the water and were breaking down into microplastics. Thank you so much to everyone who came out. We took out a massive truck tire that was easily the biggest so far from the lake. Paddle and Protect photos to follow in another post as our Instagram person takes a lot of photos. Year to date 2025: Clean up # 23 1812 bags of trash 36,770 pounds of garbage including 1 ATM, 34 bikes, 6 mattresses, 72 tires, 22 propane tanks, an electric guitar, and tens of thousands of disposable wipes that should not be tangled beside nor in a beautiful river in Toronto. Thank you. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity Photos 10, 11 & 18 taken by Candela (@candee.la_) Photos 19 & 20 taken by a wonderful MTB person #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #dreamcyclery #garbagecleanup #garlicmustardshmarlicmustard #getoutside #lakeontario #makeadifference #marinbikescanada #mountainbiking #mtb #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #paddleandprotect #paddleON #riotkayaks #stewardship #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

The youth trail runners were at it again last Thursday (and Tuesday) up on Dr. Quads and Motown. Week three is now folded and put in the closet. We are having the best time and it will be bittersweet to see the spring group end next week. Thank you so much to all our coaches and in particular to all the parents who are coming out each week to run with us. Thank you so much to Eric and everyone at Salomon (@salomonrunning, @salomontoronto) and Megan and Zion at Arc’teryx (@arcteryx, @arcteryxontario) for supporting this program. Each season of this is so special. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #arcteryx #donvalley #dontmesswiththedon #runningtheravines #salomon #salomonrunning #salomontoronto #trailrunning #youthtrailrunning

Paddle & Protect - June 8th, 2025 #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #cricketinakayak #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalleyadjacent #garbagecleanup #getoutside #lakeontario #makeadifference #paddleandprotect #paddleON #riotkayaks #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

Sometimes it is really hard to feel positive about the direction our planet is headed. Legislation just passed guts environmental protections and everywhere we look biodiversity is under threat. These things are true but it is also true that there are a lot of very good people fighting to save and restore our natural world. There are others everywhere doing good work, we know this and we are inspired. Locally we have awesome friends such as Toronto Nature Stewards (@torontonaturestewards), Project Swallowtail (@projectswallowtail.ca) and many others fighting the fight on the ground growing native plants and bringing back habitat overwhelmed by invasive plants. At DMWTD we firmly believe that our amazing volunteers are doing their part. Yesterday 33 people came out for an evening of removing invasive Garlic Mustard, Dog Strangling Vine and Burdock by the hundreds of pounds. We had yummy cookies, tried to guess whether it would rain or not, shared friendship and stories and believed that this work is important. Thank you so much to all of you. Millions upon millions of seeds are bagged, ten of thousands of plants cut back to wear out the plants and the balance of the valley has been tipped ever so slightly back towards hope. Next Wednesday is Fighting Dirty Part 2. DMWTD will be there because there's a lot fight left in us. 5 pm at 11 Redway Road, DMWTD Containers. Everyone is welcome to join us. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #dogstranglingvineisnotfine #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garlicmustardshmarlicmustard #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #stewardshipwednesdays #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

Stewardship Wednesday - Garlic Mustard Edition #amazingvolunteers #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garlicmustardshmarlicmustard #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #stewardshipwednesdays #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

27 Sickles - A DMWTD horror story 😱 The invasive Garlic Mustard and their partner Dog Strangling Vine aka DSV have taken over the valley. The Goldenrod, Cup Plant and other local residents look to you for help. Superheroes, also known as Stewards, come to their aid bearing 27 SICKLES! This Wednesday come fight dirty with DMWTD ! We have 27 sickles for 27 Stewards. 5 pm at our container hub at 11 Redway Road. We have everything you need including Craig's Cookies for all 27 of you. Students who need their volunteer hours before the end of the year, this is your moment. We are bagging the cuttings Register through the link in our profile. Save the Swallowtail, save the world- Photo taken yesterday #amazingvolunteers #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garlicmustardshmarlicmustard #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #stewardshipwednesdays #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

🌟 MORE DVP CLEAN UP PHOTOS OF OUR AMAZING VOLUNTEERS!!! 🌟 1-6 is Taylor Creek, taken by Sean (@spsymes) 7-11 is Danforth, taken by Candela @candee.la_ (welcome back!) 12-18 is York Mills taken by Stephen G. And 19-20 is Rainbow Tunnel. We can't thank you enough. What a fantastic day to make the world a better place. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #dvpcleanup #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldbetterforcricket #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

270 volunteers, The DVP and 10,000 pounds of trash collected. That's the headline! The story is that 270 amazing folks came from all over Toronto to help out their City and work so hard for the Don Valley. Each one of them pulling trash from the hardest spots. Under invasive plants, on slopes, in gullies and in places no one ever goes. 10,000 pounds of trash is our cups and lids, water bottles, parking tickets blown off windshields, hub caps and a million other pieces of plastic. This is the part of the story we hope to change for next year. Less is definitely better. This is year three of the DVP clean up and we are well over 30,000 pounds removed. All that trash would still be there! No one collects it, no one except the fine volunteers we have at DMWTD. To everyone who came out today at Queen St., Danforth, Taylor Creek, Rainbow Tunnel and York Mills, Thank You so much for making this event so amazing. We love doing this and we love our City. On a we can do better and we will note. DMWTD wants to apologize to the City's Transportation Dept. We made your life harder today by putting the garbage collected behind the guardrails at York Mills. We should have had it off the DVP entirely and in a more appropriate spot. That's my fault - Lawrence Year to date 2025: Clean up # 22 1798 bags of trash 36,470 pounds of garbage including 1 ATM, 34 bikes, 6 mattresses, 70 tires, 22 propane tanks, an electric guitar, and tens of thousands of disposable wipes that should not be tangled beside nor in a beautiful river in Toronto. Thank you. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity (These photos are from Queen Street taken by Rica & Mark) #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #dvpcleanup #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldbetterforcricket #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

DVP Clean Up Queen Street #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #dvpcleanup #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldbetterforcricket #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

Paddle and Protect, May 31st, 2025 #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #cricketinakayak #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalleyadjacent #FREAKINGFINALLY #garbagecleanup #getoutside #lakeontario #makeadifference #paddleandprotect #paddleON #riotkayaks #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

DMWTD was everywhere today. Our kayaking program teamed up with U of T Trash Team (@uofttrashteam) and Toronto Nature Stewards (@torontonaturestewards, @cherrybeachnaturestewards) for a big clean up of Tommy Thompson Park and parts of Cherry Beach. 22 awesome kayakers braved a chilly day on the water to clean up a whole bunch of trash as we kicked off our 2025 Paddle & Protect kayaking program. Meanwhile further up the Don, our amazing Mountain Biking program had a full boat of 30 riders out on the single track trails enjoying a beautiful day of riding and community. DMWTD was also at the William Burgess P.S. fair with our staff and tent doing seed balls and pine cone art with parents and kids. All this on the day before the really big show - the DVP clean up tomorrow! We will see you all there starting at 9:30 at one of the 5 locations. You can still join in on the fun 🤩 and register with the link found in our profile. DMWTD also has a number of opportunities for groups, companies and organizations to partner with us, there is a link in our profile to learn more. Year to date 2025: Clean up # 21 1298 bags of trash 26,470 pounds of garbage including 1 ATM, 32 bikes, 6 mattresses, 21 propane tanks, an electric guitar, and tens of thousands of disposable wipes that should not be tangled beside nor in a beautiful river in Toronto. Thank you. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #beginnersmountainbiking #communityengagement #communityimpact #cricketinakayak #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #donvalleyadjacent #donvalleytrails #dreamcyclery #garbagecleanup #getoutside #lakeontario #makeadifference #marinbikescanada #mountainbiking #mtb #paddleandprotect #paddleON #riotkayaks #toronto #torontonaturestewwards #torontoravines #torontotrailusers #trashcleanup #uofttrashteam #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

Cleanup with Amazon May 28th, 2025 #amazingvolunteers #amazon #amazoncanada #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldbetterforcricket #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

DMWTD is so incredibly fortunate to have so many great companies come out and help keep to Don Valley clean and healthy. Yesterday, Adam and his great group from Amazon (@amazonca) came out for the second year with us and cleaned up over 3000 pounds of trash from really hard places.Spots that are never cleaned and full of plastics. This was tough going and Amazon was amazing. Amazon has supported DMWTD with generous donations which make many of our other programs possible. Year to date 2025: Clean up # 20 1278 bags of trash 26,070 pounds of garbage including 1 ATM, 32 bikes, 6 mattresses, 21 propane tanks, an electric guitar, and tens of thousands of disposable wipes that should not be tangled beside nor in a beautiful river in Toronto. Thank You ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #amazon #amazoncanada #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldbetterforcricket #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

Here are the details for this Sunday's DVP clean up. We are so excited for this 3rd annual event. We have everything ready to go including snacks, bags, gloves and original DMWTD red shirts for everyone to keep or borrow. The City has asked us to start the clean up at 9:30 so if you can come early please do. 🚨 4 MORE DAYS TO THE 3RD ANNUAL DVP CLEAN UP! 🚨 We still need more volunteers because we are tackling even more areas this year. Companies and groups are welcome. This year we have 5 locations. You will see signs to know you are in the correct general area (Like, physical DMWTD signs, not finding $20 and having good luck for the rest of the day kind of sign--but if you do, more power to you). •Queen Location—near the Queen Street & DVP on ramp •Danforth Location--west of Broadview, south side of Danforth in the parkette in front of the City Learning Centre •Don Mills/Taylor Creek Park--in the parking lot off Don Mills and under the DVP (you will pass the Elevated Wetland Sculptures, which, depending on where you stand in the debate either looks like a tooth or an elephant) •🌈Rainbow Tunnel—parking lot off Lawrence near the East Don Trail entrance •York Mills—near the York Mills Road & DVP on ramp We will have DMWTD crew on site from 9 am until 1 pm at all locations. We will be off the DVP by 12 pm. The weather looks great. The clean up is rain or shine. We have everything you need for the biggest clean up on Canada's busiest highway. Who does this? DMWTD and Toronto. Cheers ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #dvpcleanup #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldbetterforcricket #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

We’re thrilled to kick off the 2025 kayaking season with some big news: our kayaks officially have a new home right by the waterfront at Cherry Beach! After a long journey (literally and logistically), our new containers are finally in place and the kayaks have officially moved in. This new setup means easier access and more time on the water. Along with new containers, we've also included new kayaks, including tandem kayaks! This addition means more spots available for folks to join us in the water every Sunday starting June 8th Sign-Ups can be done using the links below or on the Don't Mess With The Don Eventbrite page! June 8th: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/june-8th-paddle-protect-tickets-1382416718619?aff=oddtdtcreator June 15th: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/june-15th-paddle-protect-tickets-1382621029719?aff=oddtdtcreator (Thank you Agrata for taking the last photo) #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #cricketinakayak #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalleyadjacent #FREAKINGFINALLY #garbagecleanup #lakeontario #makeadifference #paddleandprotect #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto

DMWTD and Toronto Nature Stewards (@torontonaturestewards) have been part of Project Buckthorn for three years now. 9000 Buckthorn trees removed, roots and all. GONE! Light, air and space now giving life to native trees and plants long suppressed or dormant beneath the crush of invasive plants. Mayapples, Trilliums. Dogwoods, Jack in Pulpits and so many others are blooming again and in strong numbers. The other day as we were stewarding part of the valley, adult leaders from a local bike shop were guiding children riding through the valley when they all stopped and gave a cheer for DMWTD. That meant the world. One of the adults yelled out "The Valley is being HEALED!" It is. With the help of so many great volunteers. Project Buckthorn is finished for Spring 2025 but returns in the fall. In the meantime we are out every Wednesday at 5 pm at our container hub at 11 Redway Road. saving more of the Don Valley. We have everything you need to heal the valley. Thank you stewards and friends. ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity #buckthornbegone #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #nativeplants #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #projectbuckthorn #toronto #torontonaturestewards #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto